Letter-file



(No Model.)

F. M. BAKER.

LETTER FILE.

WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES FRANCIS M. BAKER, OF OSIVEGO, NEIV YORK.

PATENT ()FFICE.

LETTER-FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,353, dated May 19, 1891.

Application filed May 5, 1890. Serial No. 350,568. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. BAKER, of Oswego, in the county of Oswego, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Letter-Files, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of devices commonly known as bill-files, in which the bills or letters are placed upon vertical posts sharpened on top, and at the top coinciding with curved arms, so that the bills will readily slip over onto the arms from the posts.

My object is to produce an improved bill and letter file, in which the curved arms are stationary, and in which the vertical posts are mounted upon a slide.

My invention consists in the several novel features of construction and operation hereinafter described, and which are specifically set forth in the clauses of claim hereto annexed.

It is constructed as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan of the file closed. Fig. 2 is a like View of the slide detached. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section. Fig. 5 is a transverse section.

A is the board which is the base of the file upon which the other parts are mounted.

B is the body, cast or formed hollow and open on the front and secured upon the board by screws 1. This body is also provided with parallel lugs 2, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

O isthe slide, provided with slots 3, notches 4, an arm 5, with cross-bars 6, and large slotway 7, and also holes 8, in which the vertical posts 9 are secured and which are beveled or sharpened on top, substantially as shown.

D is a continuous piece of wire passed through the base and extending across within it, and bent first so as to stand vertically above it, and then bent over forward and curved and beveled so that the front ends will meet the upper ends of the posts within the body. The wire is bent angularly so as to hold it firmly and stationary and prevent it from turning or becoming inclined out of a vertical.

I cut a notch 10 under and adjacent to the front edge of the body. A strip 11 of springy sheet metal is bound around the bars 6 and extends outward therefrom, bent at 12 to form a catch and havingits outer end bent to form a handle 13. Screws 14 are inserted through the slots 3, and they, in conjunction with the slots, operate as guides for the slide C.

\Vhen I wish to put on a letter or bill, I push down the spring 11, releasing the catch 12, and then pulling outward draw the slide out, which separates the post from the curved arms, as shown in Fig. 4., so that the paper can be placed upon the posts, and then I push the slide back until the posts meet the curved arms, when the catch will snap into the notch and lock the slide in that position. The lugs 2 and notches 4 when used act as auxiliary guides for the slide.

That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with the body carrying upright arms curving forward on top, of a horizontal slide carrying vertical posts, longitudinal slots in the slide behind the posts, guide-screws through said slots, a spring secured to the slide and projecting forward over the same, a catch upon the spring adapted to engage with the front of the body, and a handle upon the free end of the spring.

2. The combination, with the body openin front, the parallel downward-projecting lugs under the top thereof, and the upright arms curved on top mounted in said body, of a horizontal slide carrying vertical posts, a rearward arm transversely slotted, slots alongside said arm opening into the slide with which the lugs 011 the body engage, a spring secured to said arm and projecting forward therefrom,

a catch upon said spring adapted to engage with a lip,on the body, and a handle upon the free end of the spring.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my In presence of H. P. DENIsoN, A. I. KELLOGG. 

